Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 613: The End of June [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you 41k more]

It was afternoon.

It was cloudy again, after the rain stopped.

It's much brighter outside than inside.

The light from outside shone into the building, making Chai Zhengzheng's face, who was sitting in front of the window in summer clothes, look even paler.

There was a painting hanging on the wall about ten feet away from Chai Zhengzheng.
Under the painting is a dark brown table with faint red spots.

In the middle of the table stood a solemn incense burner with exquisite carvings.

A faint green smoke wafted out of the incense burner, floating over the precious porcelain vase with fresh flowers placed at one end of the table.

the rain stopped,
The summer cicadas, which had not chirped much when it rained just now, now joined in the croaking of frogs around the house, making the beautiful scenery in Chai Zhengzheng's eyes more filled with the breath of summer.

suddenly,

Chai Zhengzheng frowned.

The speed of waving the round fan in his hand also became much faster.

"Yunmu."

Chai Zhengzheng called softly.

"Girl, what's wrong?"

Yunmu responded while walking around the screen and towards Chai Zhengzheng.

"I just heard a mosquito buzzing." Chai Zhengzheng frowned.

Yunmu came to Chai Zhengzheng and waved his hand around her, saying, "Miss, it's evening now, after the rain, and it's the time when mosquitoes are swarming."

"The veil on the window has been removed again. Even though we have lit incense to repel insects, some mosquitoes will still fly in after all."

"If you want to continue to enjoy the scenery, shall I move the incense burner closer to you?"

Chai Zhengzheng nodded: "Okay."

"Hey! Wait a minute, girl."

Having said that, Yunmu turned and left, moved a small table and placed it near Chai Zhengzheng, and placed the incense burner on it.

When Yunmu was doing these things, Chai Zhengzheng didn't look at the scenery, but turned sideways and looked at Yunmu's figure in a trance.

After finishing his work, Yunmu looked at Chai Zhengzheng who was sitting on the chair and said with a smile, "Miss, are there still mosquitoes buzzing?"

Chai Zhengzheng shook his head slightly.

Yunmu, who was very careful, saw the sadness in his girl's eyes, so he stepped forward and whispered, "Girl, what's wrong with you?"

Chai Zhengzheng forced a smile and said, "Nothing serious, just thinking of some old things."

Yunmu thought for a moment and said softly, "Miss, are you thinking about what happened before?"

Chai Zhengzheng took a deep breath and nodded.

It seems that cloudy days always make people sentimental. Looking at the scenery outside the window, Chai Zhengzheng said softly: "In the blink of an eye, you came to me. It was actually three years ago."

Yunmu, who was standing by, followed Chai Zhengzheng's line of sight and looked out, and echoed, "The girl is right, time flies by so fast."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Amid the chirping of cicadas and frogs outside the house, the sound of someone walking up a wooden ladder could be heard from behind the screen.

"Miss, Sister Yunmu, the Madam sent someone to call you."

Zi Teng said as she went upstairs.

Looking at the sky outside, Chai Zhengzheng stood up and said, "Let's go back."

After going down the wooden building,

He got into the carriage at the gate of the yard,
After Chai Zhengzheng drove out of the house, the group drove towards the Chai family.

back home,

Chai Zhengzheng brought the maid to Mrs. Chai's yard.

"The girl is here."

Following the maid's message, Chai Zhengzheng walked through the door curtain and entered the main room.

"Mother, sister-in-law."

Chai Zhengzheng looked at the two women in the room and bowed with a smile.

Then, Chai Zhengzheng turned his gaze to the two people sitting there.

Looking at the smiling Madam Chai and the somewhat shy elder sister-in-law, Chai Zhengzheng pondered for a moment and said, "Mother, what happened to my sister-in-law? Is there going to be a happy event in our family?"

Madam Chai smiled and nodded at Chai Zhengzheng, saying, "You have very clear eyes."

Chai Zhengzheng's face lit up with joy. He walked to his sister-in-law Lu, squatted down and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, am I going to have a nephew?"

Mrs. Lu nodded somewhat embarrassedly.

Chai Zhengzheng looked up at Madam Chai and said, "Mother, my eldest brother has been married for several months. Look at him. Isn't his saying very effective?"

Madam Chai shook her head helplessly, staring at Chai Zhengzheng and said, "At your age, what do you know? I heard from Madam Wu that there are countless couples in Beijing who have been married for many years but still have no children!"

"Your sister-in-law got pregnant in just a few months, that was a happy event, why is it that it is not very effective in your case?"

Chai Zhengzheng pursed his lips and said with a turn of eyes: "I heard from Miss Rong that her sister-in-law is pregnant very soon."

Madam Chai waved her hand and said, "Go, go, go, sit back down! You little girl! This is the first time I've heard of anything better than this!"

Chai Zhengzheng smiled at Lu and said, "Sister-in-law, from today on, I will prepare a gift for the one in your belly."

Having said that, Chai Zhengzheng stood up and sat back in his chair.

Mrs. Lu smiled and said, "Sister, why is it so early?"

Mrs. Chai waited for her daughter-in-law and daughter to finish talking, then smiled and said, "By the way, the Taoist priest from the Shenbao Temple outside the city came to visit our house today and asked if we would like to go and burn the first incense in the second half of the month."

Chai Zhengzheng asked with a smile: "Mother, what did you and sister-in-law say?"

"Of course you have to go! We have to pray to the gods to bless you." Mrs. Chai said, patting her daughter-in-law's hand.

"Oh!" Chai Zhengzheng nodded, took the drink of suitable temperature handed to him by the maid, and took two sips.

While drinking, there was a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Madam Chai curled her lips slightly and said, "I have asked Madam Wu, on the birthday of the God of Shenbao Temple, the Xu family..."

Chai Zhengzheng, who was drinking, looked over there, exchanged a glance with Mrs. Chai, then quickly looked back at his teacup.

"Mrs. Sun from the Xu family, you are too pregnant to go."

Chai Zhengzheng nodded gently and said, "Mother, where are the two ladies of the Xu family?"

"Well, they are going to go."

Chai Zhengzheng raised his eyebrows and his bright eyes rolled twice.

"But, Madam Wu said that Xu's Fifth Brother always had some problems on those two days in the past few years. This year, he will not go, just like before."

"Oh," Chai Zhengzheng nodded and replied, "Whether he goes or not has nothing to do with my daughter! Mother, why are you talking about this?"

As he said this, Chai Zhengzheng looked at his sister-in-law Lu somewhat embarrassedly.

When he met Lu's smiling eyes, Chai Zhengzheng didn't know where to look.

"Oh, I was talking too much?"

"Ah."

Chai Zhengzheng nodded in response.

later,
The head of the Chai family and Chai Zhengzheng's two elder brothers returned home.

Summer days are long and the weather is changeable.

When the Chai family finished their dinner, the sky in the west suddenly turned from cloudy to clear.

After the clouds dissipated, a ray of sunshine spread over the city of Bianjing.

While the sky is bright,

The Chai family took a walk in the garden to digest their food.
When taking a walk, the head of the Chai family and Chai Bo walked in the front, with Chai Jin and his wife in the middle, and Madam Chai and Chai Zhengzheng walking at the end arm in arm.

Looking at Chai Jin and his daughter-in-law walking in the sunset ahead, Madam Chai whispered, "I heard from Yunmu that you are thinking about the past again today?"

Chai Zhengzheng pursed his lips and nodded: "Well, the maid's clothes are similar in style and color. When Yunmu was moving the incense burner today, he looked a bit like Qingxue, so my daughter was distracted for a while."

"Some thoughts flashed through my mind." Looking at Mrs. Chai's inquiring eyes, Chai Zhengzheng smiled and said, "Mother, these are just some random thoughts."

Madam Chai patted Chai Zhengzheng's hand gently and whispered, "Zhengzheng, are you wondering what would happen if Xu Jia Wulang didn't go to Jinyang Mountain?"

Chai Zhengzheng nodded.

Madam Chai shook her head and said earnestly, "Thinking too much about those things is useless! Now that things have passed, we should look forward."

"My daughter knows."

In a blink of an eye,

It was late June.
The 24th is the birthday of the God of Peace.
Outside the Shenbao Temple in the west of the city, it was as lively as in previous years.

But these have nothing to do with Xu Zaijing.

He went to the Sheng family early in the morning and returned to the Yongyi Marquis Mansion after a day of school.

There were not many members of the Sheng family today. Zai Zhang, Chang Feng and the three Lans all took leave and went out of the city for fun.

Only Xu Zaijing and four others were in the school.

When Xu Zaijing returned to the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion,
When he saw the carriage parked by the racecourse, he knew that Xie Hualan, Zai Zhang and others had already returned home.

Xu Zaijing played with his mount for a while and then went to the backyard.

"The Fifth Young Master is here."

Following the maid's announcement, Xu Zaijing, who had bathed and changed into new clothes, lowered his head and walked into the hall.

"Mother, sister-in-law"

When Xu Zaijing was greeting his mother, brother and sister-in-law, he saw his eldest nephew Xingdai, happily walking towards him, holding a long silk bag.

As he walked, he said, "Uncle, uncle, this is a gift from an aunt."

Hearing this, Xu Zaijing looked at Zai Zhang and others with some curiosity.

"What is this?"

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing squatted down with a smile and took the silk bag from his nephew.

Mrs. Xie, who was sitting nearby holding her daughter, had a helpless smile on her face and said, "Xiaowu, today when we were strolling outside Shenbao Temple, we happened to meet Mrs. Chai and her family."

"When the two families were talking together, Brother Dai and Miss Zheng Zheng somehow started chatting."

"In the end, Dai Ge'er..." Mrs. Xie pointed at her son in angrily and said, "Miss Zheng Zheng was just being polite, but he actually asked for the toy."

"When asked why he wanted this thing, he refused to say anything. It's really infuriating!"

Xu Zaijing looked at his eldest nephew and asked with a kind smile, "Oh? Dai Ge'er, what toy do you want?"

Xu Xingdai smiled a little embarrassedly: "Uncle, I don't want anything. It's the same as the one in your hand, just smaller."

At this time, Xu Zaijing also opened the long silk bag and pulled out the contents.

But it is a slingshot that is very similar in shape to a strong bow.

The difference between a slingshot and a bow and arrow is that a leather bag for marbles is added to the bowstring, and what is fired is not feather arrows, but metal, stone, or clay marbles.

Legend has it that the god of Baoguan, also known as Erlang Shen, used this kind of slingshot as a weapon.

Therefore, today is the birthday of the Shenbao Temple God, so there are naturally many stalls selling such things outside the temple.

When Xu Zaijing was looking at the things in his hand, Xu Xingdai also ran to Sun's side excitedly, took out a much smaller slingshot from the Luohan chair, and said, "Uncle, this is the toy that Aunt Chai gave me."

Then he pointed at the slingshot in Xu Zaijing's hand and said, "The nanny of Aunt Chai's family also said that the one you have, uncle, was given to you by me. Is this thing powerful?"

Xu Zaijing looked at the slingshot in his hand, which was well-made. The leather bag on the bowstring was very delicate, and the bow arm was sleek and smooth. Just by looking at it, he knew that the bow arm had great power. He smiled and said, "As long as it can hit the target, the power cannot be underestimated! Dai Ge'er, then my uncle has to thank you first."

Xu Xingdai raised his head and chest with some pride, and said, "Uncle, you gave me so many toys, this is my nephew's return to you."

Xu Zaijing smiled and shook his head, then looked at his brother Zai Zhang with some confusion.

Zai Zhang, who understood what Xu Zai Jing meant, smiled and shook his head, saying, "We didn't want this thing at first, but when we were leaving, the nanny beside Madam Chai personally delivered it to us."

"It was hard to refuse Madam Chai's kindness, and Dai Ge'er loved her so much that he held her tightly and refused to let go. We couldn't refuse either, so we brought her back."

Looking at Xu Xingdai who was holding the slingshot tightly in front of him, Xu Zaijing continued to squat, smiled and touched his nephew's head, and said: "Dai brother, why did you think of this thing?"

Xu Xingdai rubbed his head against Xu Zaijing's palm a little embarrassedly, smiled at Xu Zaijing, lowered his head and looked at the thing in his hand, and said: "Uncle, before Dad went to the army, he talked to me about this thing."

Hearing this,

The smile on Xu Zaijing's face froze. Looking at his nephew holding a slingshot in front of him, his heart ached. He then reached out and hugged his nephew in his arms.

His eldest brother Xu Zaiduan was the eldest son of Marquis Yongyi. As the eldest son in the family and a soldier, he and his son Xu Xingdai were naturally separated from each other more often than they were together.

Xu Xingdai was already six years old and had already begun to miss his father.

The expressions of other people in the hall also changed.

Zai Zhang, who was sitting on the chair, clenched his teeth and clenched his fists with a look of self-blame.

Hua Lan, holding her son, quickly reached out to cover Zai Zhang's hand, and her eyes were full of heartache when she looked at her nephew.

Mrs. Xie took a deep breath, suppressed the sourness in her nose and the warmth in her eyes, and said, "Dai'er, why didn't you tell mother that you were outside the city?"

Hearing this,

Xu Xingdai twisted in Xu Zaijing's arms, looked at Xie a little embarrassedly, and said, "Mother, before father left for the army, he told me that mother still wanted to look after my sister, and asked me to be more sensible."

"I wanted this slingshot, but I was a little ignorant, so I didn't dare to say it."

Xu Zaijing also took a deep breath, smiled, picked up Xu Xingdai, touched his head, and said, "Good nephew! Do you know how to use this slingshot?"

Xu Xingdai shook his head.

Xu Zaijing smiled and said, "Then my uncle will teach you."

"Yeah." Xu Xingdai smiled and nodded heavily.

Watching the uncle and nephew leave the hall, Xie's tears suddenly flowed.

Hualan quickly handed her son to Zai Zhang and sat next to Xie to comfort her.

Xie wiped her tears with a handkerchief and looked at Sun, who was about to speak. Sun waved her hand and said, "Don't talk about Dalang's family. I haven't been able to take care of Dai'er these days."

As she spoke, Sun looked at Zai Zhang who was blaming himself and said, "Sanlang, don't blame yourself! You went through the same thing when you were little."

Zai Zhang shook his head: "Mother, that's exactly why I feel even more guilty. I should have thought of this when Dai Ge'er was holding this thing tightly."

Sun took a deep breath, stroked her big belly, and said, "It's a good thing that you thought of it today. You should pay more attention to it in the future."

Hua Lan, who was standing by, held her sister-in-law Xie's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, don't cry. When Dai Ge'er comes back later and sees you crying, he might blame himself again."

"Yes, yes, Hualan, you are right." Xie quickly took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

After relaxing for a while, listening to Xu Xingdai's laughter outside the hall, Xie looked at her mother-in-law and said, "Mother, it's a good thing that Dai'er has always been close to Xiaowu, otherwise I don't know how long it would take for me to notice Dai'er's thoughts."

Sun smiled and nodded.

East of the palace,

Chai family,

Qiushengyuan,
In the main house,
It is easy to sweat when you are outside in hot weather, so as soon as Chai Zhengzheng gets home, he takes a shower and prepares to change into new clothes.

When the maid Yunmu used a dry towel to wipe Chai Zhengzheng's hair,
"Madam is here."

The voice of the maid was heard outside the door.

Looking at Madam Chai who came into the room, Chai Zhengzheng said with a smile: "Mother, why are you here?"

Madam Chai looked at Chai Zhengzheng helplessly and said, "Just now a nanny said that when the Xu family returned to the city, you gave them a gift?"

Chai Zhengzheng nodded: "Yes, mother."

Madam Chai looked at her daughter with some resentment: "Zheng Zheng, you... There are many outsiders in Shenbao Temple, and you are not afraid of affecting your reputation by doing this!"

"Mother, so I asked the nanny beside you to deliver it." Chai Zhengzheng said with a smile.

Madam Chai shook her head: "The third son of the Xu family and the two ladies all declined the gift, but you still insisted on giving it to them."

Chai Zhengzheng sighed with a hint of feeling and said, "Mother, did you listen to what your daughter said? Your daughter insisted on sending me because Xiao Dai said so."

After listening to Chai Zhengzheng's words, Mrs. Chai sighed with emotion, and then said affirmatively: "Zhengzheng, you did the right thing!"

As she spoke, Mrs. Chai smiled, not knowing what she was thinking of. She said sadly, "If Xu's Fifth Brother knew about this."

"Whether he knows or not, it has nothing to do with what his daughter did!" Chai Zhengzheng pursed his lips.

(End of this chapter)